Dr. Emily Fairfax receives major grant from the NSF

Climate change is stressing our ecosystems and landscapes in new and increasingly alarming ways. Meanwhile, beaver-based restoration is gaining momentum as a nature-based climate solution in North America but there is a need for greater collaboration and coordination amongst researchers, and between researchers, managers, and policymakers. Led by Dr. Emily Fairfax and with the support of a $499,853 grant from the National Science Foundations, her team will establish a Research Coordination Network (RCN) that synthesizes existing research on the relationship between beaver management practices, beavers, and beaver-related ecosystem services through a geospatial lens; describes legal constraints on beaver management and their variability across space and place; facilitates knowledge transfer between management practitioners and research communities at local, regional, and continental scales; and assembles a summary of the "state of the science" that identifies key knowledge gaps and opportunities for progress in both basic and applied beaver science. Working strategically with beavers and ensuring that policy and land management decisions are grounded in data is an important step for maximizing their potential as a nature-based solution. Fairfax is the lead PI on this NSF grant with coPIs from University of North Carolina Charlotte, Washington State University Vancouver, The Beaver Institute, and Outer Coast College. The grant will last for four years, fund undergrads, interns, and grad students across the institutions above, and bring together researchers, managers, knowledge holders, and policymakers in regional meetings and then a continent-wide meeting to better understand the state of beaver science and policy. Congratulations, Dr. Fairfax!